Of Hunters and Dragons (Von Jägern und Drachen)
by GundamGirl101
Summary: After Eren, Mikasa and Armin join the Survey Corps, titans begin disappearing. Instead, massive dragons began taking their place. The Survey Corp has a new enemy now, and it's been proven a worthy opponent for humanity's strongest. Hysteria wipes the walls, and the Scouts and when Eren begins growing dragon horns, the Scouts want him dead. Will Levi tame Eren's new terrifying form?
1. Chapter 1

To Eren Jaeger, waiting in the shadows was the worst part of being an assassin. There had always been something about sitting or lying in a dark, clamped space that irked him to no end. In this position, there was only darkness as a companion with the soft humming of the candle-lit lights flickering on and off on the nearby desk. This resulted in lots of time to contemplate the musings of humanity. Through his thoughts, Eren was much less interested in the mysteries and philosophies life brings, but more annoyed that his prey was taking too long in the bathroom.

He sighed heavily, annoyed by the clammy space between the fabrics. He realized the darkness had begun growing unexpectedly hot, along with his body heat. His chestnut hair was sticking to his forehead and he wiped beads of sweat from his temple.

He had been there for some time. Time long enough for the warm air collecting to begin clinging to his thin figure. He stood up and shook the precipitate off. It was at that point that Eren didn't care if he risked himself being sighted, anything to get a breath of fresh air.

After quickly adjusting his black bandana covering his mouth and nose for some needed oxygen, a welcomed scraping of the wooden bathroom door brought Eren's attention back to his original intention.

Quickly, he decided to get back to his spot for the utmost startle effect. Henri was clutching a large flask of dark alcohol in his hand and stared blankly through the open door.

Without deciding to waste another moment, Eren ripped the fabric from his hidden spot behind the curtain, stepping into the barely-illuminated room. Henri, startled by the abrupt sound, spilled amber liquid onto the floor, the glass clinking once before shattering with an ear-piercing cry. For a moment, Henri whimpered, his dark green eyes trailing after the overturned flask of his former drink.

"W-Why are you… here?" Henri stammered, his trembling hands shook uncontrollably at his sides.

Eren pulled his handgun from its sheath on his side, remaining silent for the moment. His sharp and cold gaze cut over Henri as he tensed himself for the elder's possible escape attempt. "You've become a threat to our organization," Eren replied, his deep voice cracking slightly from underuse, and muffled from the bandana around his mouth, shielding his face.

The man took a hesitant step towards him. "Wait… I know that voice. You're Grisha's..." Despite Henri moving closer, Eren stood his ground and the pistol's aim was raised at his target's sweat-covered forehead, point blank. He couldn't miss from this distance.

_The more focused on me he is, the less likely he is to escape_. Eren thought. _Good. Getting out will place my needed practicing to the test. _

At once, the man became desperate, probably finally coming to more of his senses, and took note of the gun being pointed at him.

"Please! Please, wait!" The man cried, getting down on his hands and knees, taking Eren by slight surprise. "Have mercy on me! I'll give you anything. How much do you want? I'll give it to you, just name your price!" Henri began kissing Eren's feet, which were in fact, rather dirty.

"What's this? Begging for your life? This is how you cowardly bastards get out of a life or death situation, don't you?" Eren inquired, lowering the gun to the man's throat. "I'm no robber. I'm your executor. So I won't be taking your money, I have no need of it. Instead, you should have given that to the poor underlings you treat so horrifically with your abusive dictator-run industry. I'm only here to make you atone for your filthy sins. I'm here to take your life."

However, the man wasn't able to muster another word to respond, because at that moment, Eren fired his handgun. The sharp bullet cracked through the silence of the entire manor, the reverberating kickback and aftermath sizzled in his palm. The bullet grazed the air, striking the man's throat and pushing clean through the other side before splitting a thick dent into the wall behind him. The familiar smoky smell of a freshly used bullet filled the room. Eren took a deep breath of it.

Crimson blood began flowing out like a fountain from the fatal shot, the blistering, sticky drops had been splattered against the bare skin of Eren's hands and covered the floor in glossy red.

As the man fell like a lifeless doll to his knees, clawing helplessly at his throat, with his aged mouth agape in horror and fear.

If this had been Eren's first time seeing a person's brink of death, he would have surely been traumatized. Instead, he only peered down with narrowed eyes at the dying man.

* * *

In less than twenty seconds, Monsieur Henri Leviathan was dead.

* * *

Taking a final glance at the corpse of the cruelest man in the industry, Eren scoffed. "Pathetic." He then turned to the window, opening it quietly and emerged into the cool night. Eren remained perched on the window ledge for a few moments, allowing the chilled winter air to cool his damp skin. Nothing could prepare him for the gusts of winter wind. He felt his heart suddenly pounding. It was as if his body realized what he had done before it processed to the rest of him.

There was no time to calm his racing heart. Undoubtedly, the guards must have definitely heard the blast from the gun, and there was only a certain amount of time before they burst into the dead man's chamber. Eren cursed his choice of weaponry.

He carefully flattened himself against the stone walls of the chateau, using the window ledges for support. The night was windy, and each gust whipped his dark hair about his face, threatening to push him over the edge and to his death. Moving was a whole other obstacle, and slow work. But even made slower by the relentless wind at his back. Still, he continued along, ignoring the creeping of aches in his thighs and the sweat somehow gathering at his temples.

It was only a matter of time before the guards think to look out the window, and if that happens before Eren lowers himself to the ground, he's as good as dead.

"Hey! You!"

"_Shit_." Eren cursed quietly. He dared a quick glance below him.

On the ground beneath his feet stood one of the Monsieur's guards, clutching a pistol with unsteady hands. Without preamble, the man aimed his weapon and fired. The bullet whizzed through the air, directly past Eren's ear and cracked the walls, creating a shower of stone fragments that rained down on his head and body. Eren brought up his arm above his head to shield himself from the onslaught of rock, closing his eyes for only a second.

A small grin tugged at the corners of Eren's lips.

"You're not a very good shot, are you?" Eren called down to the guard, his voice echoing through the air, hoping to taunt enough to frazzle the man into firing a second faulty shot. It did.

The guard fired the pistol once again, only this time, his aim was even worse. The bullet landed meters away from Eren's feet. He didn't want the guard to shoot a third time, so with one last intake of breath, he launched himself off the window's ledge.

For a heart-wrenching moment, he was in free-fall, and then his hands shot up to grip the chateau's grand doorway. As he scrambled to keep his grasp on the outcropping of the stone, he gritted his teeth and braced himself for another gust of wind that ripped through the blackened night.

Below him, the click of the guard readying the pistol for its third shot rang out in the momentary silence. Knowing more guards were bound to come running any second, Eren released his fingers and readied himself for impact. Fortunately, he managed to keep himself upright as he landed on the ground. The second Eren touched the soft ground, two more readied guards barreled into him and the firing guard, knocking them both into the grass.

Though the older man was bigger, Eren had faster reflexes, and in an instant, he brought his leg up in one swift motion and smashed his knee against the guard's nose. There was a sickening crack, and the guard rolled off him, hollering in pain.

"Quit playing with the bastard and get in the boat already!" called a familiar voice from the riverbank, his words carrying over the howling wind.

Ignoring the guard's desperate moans of agony, Eren turned to the river. "Oh, I apologize. How inconsiderate of me. Have you been terribly bored waiting there all by yourself?"

"Idiot!" An annoyed growl was the response from the boat.

Beside him, the guard reached out and wrapped his hands around Eren's right ankle, but he didn't have enough strength to knock him off his feet.

Eren glanced down at the guard with a frown, and reached for his pistol. He pointed the barrel of the gun at the man's head, his fingers wrapped around the trigger.

He studied the man's face, his gaze moving from the sweat gathering at the guard's hairline to the determined set of his features. Even with the pistol aimed directly at his head, the guard doesn't falter, keeping his hand firmly gripped on Eren's ankle in one last fleeting attempt to bring him to his knees.

Though in the end, he changed his mind altogether. He'll have hell to pay for it later, but he never agreed to murder an innocent man.

Instead, he spun the gun around and brought the butt of the weapon down on the guard's temple. Hard. The man went limp, releasing the grip on Eren's ankle at last. Finally free, he makes a mad dash for the river and the shielded boat waiting for him there.

"Why in God's name did you take so long?"

Eren ignored the complaint and focused his remaining energy on getting in without falling into the water, grunting and pulling himself on the bow. Once he was safely inside and the boat was making its way down the river, he allowed himself to finally relax. "My bad," he mumbled, pulling the damp bandana off his face.

"Well, what was it?" Levi Ackerman asked, crossing his arms. "Tell me the truth. You had to run from the dogs again, didn't you?"

Eren shot Levi the best scathing glare he could muster up under the circumstances. " I did not. He took some time getting into the room, is all."

"And you almost got caught."

Eren shrugged. Levi might make a good conversationalist, but Gods, he was bossy and judgmental.

"When will you learn to be more careful?" Levi asked. "Get the job over with and get out as quickly as you can. No stalling."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that, thank you," Eren sighed in annoyance, focusing his attention on the fading sun as it dipped behind the river's end, not only a sliver of fire against the navy sky.

"Now we're going to be late," Levi sighed.

"His last words were about me," Eren said solemnly. "He knew who I was."

"Who cares what some gassy old nobleman said about you? If we're late to the Council meeting, we won't have an alibi!" Levi slapped his oars against the river, creating a shower of water. "Besides, he's dead now so it doesn't matter either way. The real issue is getting to the Grand Council on time."

"No one will notice if we're late," Eren said. "All eyes will be on the King anyways."

Levi shook his head. "Not likely. Our absence is always greatly detected. Yours especially, since you're the trump card of humanity."

"Oh well."

"Don't you 'oh well' this,"

"I may be humanity's trump card, but you're my Captain, and therefore you're interesting by association," Eren said with a wave of a hand.

"Whatever. My fighting days are over. And so are the pointless arguments," Levi huffed, but not without a slight smirk, a simple act Eren would have never expected from humanity's strongest warrior himself's stature three years ago. "The titans have been gone for three years anyways. We're finally recovering our lands. This was the dream of everyone, right?"

"Yeah, it was." Eren cracked a smile.

"I can't believe you're still going on about that 'Captain' shit. That's cute."

Eren nodded. "It may not be relevant anymore but… Still… Always my Captain."

"Sure, brat," Levi propped a leg up on the side of the boat and crossed his arms.

"Anyways, I heard there is an English girl debuting at court tonight who's rumored to be quite beautiful. Maybe you should try not to be such a bore and actually talk to a woman for once in your life?" Eren raised a brow, laughing.

"That was rude," Levi splashed Eren mid-laugh. "And untrue."

"Ah, yes, silly me to forget how you apologized to Queen Historia Reiss last week for stepping on her dress at the salon."

"Sorry, was that before or after you were caught in bed with her older sister, Frieda Reiss?"

Eren landed a rather uncalled for kick on Levi's shin, and Levi's eyes narrowed. "All I'm saying is you'd better act damn cheerful tonight. We can't let on we know anything about Henri Leviathan's death."

"Or that I was the one who kinda killed him."

Eren replied through gritted teeth. "It's alright. No one will know."

"Yes, you're probably right." Levi chuckled, sitting back on the wooden seat, looking up at the sky. "Being the world-renowned doctor's son, wouldn't it be amusing if everyone found out the person killing off all nobility is nobility himself?"

"No." Eren stated. It wouldn't be funny. Not in the very least.

* * *

The fading afternoon sky darkened into a rosy pink with fleeting orange streaks as night quickly approached. Frieda Reiss walked to the balcony of the Reiss castle and took a breath of fresh air, her pink lips parting.

"Historia Reiss... What will we do...?" Her dark hair flowed in the breeze, the curls reflecting the last of the fading light.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're _late_," Mikasa Ackerman voiced to her friend, not turning away from herself in the mirror.

Eren pinched his temples, and blew a steady stream of air in a long sigh out of his mouth, scratching his head in defeat. She got me, Eren thought. Again. So much for being discreet and sneaking in behind her back.

It was almost laughable that he attempted to hide in plain sight, using the shadows as his only means of a shield. Yet, he couldn't usually get past her without being chastised anyways. He didn't want to deal with this. "Sorry, Mikasa," Eren bowed his head apologetically.

"Welcome back, Eren."

"Ah, Armin," Eren gave a gentle smile to his friend beside her. Armin returned the gesture.

"Mikasa, please don't be too mad at him. I'm sure he was only absent because he was getting ready for the meeting," Armin Arlert exclaimed tentatively.

The once wallflower had become an attractive, pale-skinned man, blossoming into the voice of reason, integrity, and confidence, though he still let fragments of his former counterpart surface occasionally. With his signature bright golden locks that once hung drearily over his eyes, they were now pushed out of his face in a formal manner Eren had never seen before.

Armin was seated in the decorative chair next to Mikasa's quilted bed. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, beside one of her velvety golden pillows.

Just one look at him was enough to make Eren sick with the fateful thought that his friend would be thrown into the hellish bowels of the Council for marriage soon. He'd like to freeze time, to keep his precious friend the age he was now, forever. To keep his large blue eyes pure and innocent and his smile, genuine and deceitless.

"Where were you this time?" Mikasa tightly fastened her sapphire and pearl necklace around her neck and turned to Eren.

"Why do you feel the need to worry so much about me all the time?" Eren muttered under his breath, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"What was that?" Mikasa's voice became like daggers, as she stopped her motions, gazing at Eren through the mirror.

Worriedly, Eren shook his head. "Nothing! Nothing at all!" He forced a laugh from deep within his chest, and Armin gave his friend a sincere look and chuckled.

Mikasa sighed and looked back at her reflection, placing her slender hand over her necklace. "Right. I'm sure it was."

The raven-haired beauty could make any man fall to his knees with a simple flutter of her lashes. Though she rejected every man who attempted to propose, she still possessed the regal grace that could never be matched by any other women her age, aside from the Queen, in the rest of the Court. It had always been strange to Eren how he managed to be the only one that captivated her one-track mind of solitude, wanting to spend time with him.

He scratched his head again. "You see, I was assisting Levi with his wardrobe," Eren responded without hesitation.

Mikasa's eye twitched.

Eren nodded, resting his back against the stone wall beside the doorway, obliviously unaware of her hatred towards the Corporal.

"Yes, poor guy. He had a hard time choosing an outfit for an occasion such as this. I pitied him and decided to help. You know how he is with this stuff… But he came to a conclusion when I got there."

It had been years since lying had been second nature to Eren, as well as a chore. Now he lied more than he told the truth and somehow found the act comforting. It was so much easier creating stories; the difficulty really coming from dealing with reality.

"I bet Levi looks marvelous as always," Armin mumbled, hugging the pillow close to his chest. "I keep forgetting he's only thirty years old."

"Tch." Mikasa turned back to Eren, ignored her friend's remark of her despised older cousin, who favored Eren. "Then why aren't you ready, hm? It was rude of him not to return the favor and help you too."

"He was in a rush. I ended up leaving my clothes there anyway. I thought I would be back in time to get ready and go. I apologize." Eren pushed past Mikasa and Armin and made his way to his room.

However, he doesn't make it too far before Mikasa's light, quick footsteps catch up to him. "You don't fool me, Eren."

Without turning around, Eren raised his hands. "I surrender."

"We can talk about that later." Mikasa smiled. "More importantly though… How do you like my dress? I had it specially made for me."

Eren turned to face her beaming face as she continued.

"Historia told me I need to get used to wearing attire like this if I'm going to steal the heart of the Court next year." She twirled, letting out a giggle as she showed off her champagne colored silk dress to Eren.

This was all out of character to Eren. Her disposition was new to him, even though this had been happening for years. All Mikasa used to do was fight. He would have never expected this day to come, ever. But since the last titan fell, that stoic warrior she once was had become much looser and independent these days. Not that it's a bad thing, Eren added in his thoughts, shrugging.

"The Court isn't everything," Eren mumbled.

Mikasa stopped twirling and fixed a saddened gaze on him. "Eren, before the wall fell, we never had this much freedom. Relax a bit."

She was right as always. Danger has been always on his mind. Though the titans had disappeared years ago, there was still a pain left inside him that nothing could help it recover. The drama had not disappeared. People were still on edge, wondering, agonizing over theories that there would be a recurring event of apocalyptic human annihilation. Secret groups were created, which evolved into organizations that swore to secrecy, and killed off their hypothesized enemies within the new society.

The Court itself housed numerous of these organizations. Though the Reiss family was at the peak of their royal reign, the Court was laced with a deadly poison that has no antidote. These members were undercover within the castle walls. This was why the people never spoke of their treasonable behavior.

Almost everyone in the district either had the sense to ignore it or is too stupid to realize it's there in the first place. Mikasa was torn in between, at least in Eren's perspective.

Eren didn't have that luxury. From the age of seventeen, he was thrust into the Court's dark underbelly, and he learned fast that once you were exposed to evil, you never fully recovered your sense of happiness. This was the case in the fall of Shiganshina. Many men still hadn't recovered from those terrifying events they experienced.

"There is more to life than the Court. Remember that. Remember what we fought for," Eren sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Mikasa nodded. "Yes, Eren. We fought for this." She opened her arms and twirled around again. "Happiness. Free will. It's what we have now. Embrace it, Eren."

Eren sighed, giving Mikasa's raven hair an affectionate ruffle. "Just… Don't forget that. Live your life how you want it to be."

Mikasa hummed in response and didn't protest at the soft head rub. "You would never lie to me though, would you?"

Eren looked down at her hopeful face. She was so beautiful and would grow even more so as time goes on. Men will want to do nothing but lie to her. He must make certain that she'll never get hurt. "No," He replied softly. "I will always be here to protect you. Always ."

Satisfied with his response, Mikasa gives him a hug around his middle and skipped off happily down the rest of the hallway. Once she was out of sight, Eren opened his bedroom door with shaky hands and grabbed onto his armoire so he wouldn't slip to the floor.

What is life but a big game of dress up? Everyone used to question what the point of life is when the titans were putting humanity on the brink of extinction. But this… Compared to that, this is just stupid.

Fancy clothes, honorful titles, and grooming were nothing more than cheap tricks to draw lines between each other's relationships and power. To make people hate each other. To give them an excuse to take another's life. People wanted to continue fighting out of the sense of feeling purposeless, even though they obtained everything they wanted and more.

Eren sucked in great lungfuls of air to steady himself, gripping the armoire hard enough to inflict pain on his hand. Pain clears the mind like nothing else, and tonight, he can't afford to have his mind clouded with disastrous thoughts. More than likely, Henri Leviathan's death will be announced at the Grand Council, and it won't bode well he doesn't emulate the shock of the others in the room.

Once he had calmed himself sufficiently, Eren lifted his head and scrutinized his reflection in the mirror. His face changed after each kill, sometimes for the better, but usually for the worse. Something about Henri's death has left him looking haggard and lonely. His face was pale and almost lifeless. He ran his hand through his long bangs, almost tempted to rip it out in angst.

Eren accepted a life of loneliness when he was coaxed into becoming an assassin, though the loneliness never bothered him until now.

* * *

Historia Reiss tugged awkwardly at her dress, feeling the seams stretch beyond their own means. _Damnit_, the Queen cursed. _I knew this would have been a tight fit_.

"That's the last time I go to that seamstress," she huffed, crossing her arms over her bedazzled white evening attire. Her golden hair draped down, softly curling along the ends as she struggled to attach her emerald necklace around her neck.

"You know, continuously adjusting your dress isn't very becoming of the new Queen," Sasha Blouse giggled through her teeth.

"Oh, you can only imagine," Historia rolled her eyes, huffing again. "Isn't there any other dress I can wear tonight?"

"Why? What's the problem? That dress is spot-on."

"It's not that. I just don't feel like 'me' in it."

"What?" Sasha exclaimed as she peeked around the corner of the oriental full-body mirror, gazing at herself and the Queen.

Historia continued, curling a lock of her hair around her index finger, "I guess it's too… 'not' me." A small blush grew beneath Historia's cheeks. "And… this dress just doesn't fit correctly either."

"Really?" Sasha gaped like a fish. "But it's new!" She, on the other hand, was wearing a billowing saffron dress, with jewel-tipped bows, larger than her face sewn into the bodice. Unrecognizable, Sasha looked stunning in her attire. She looked slightly 'new' in the extravagant dress, but not uncomfortable like Historia was, adjusting to her new lifestyle every second.

Sasha's once messy hair that was the brown of mahogany, rich and deep, yet with the subtle black hues was tirelessly combed into a neat bun. Of course, this was all the efforts of Historia's personal servants. "Besides," Sasha smiles, "all the men will flock over you."

"Men?" Historia gave Sasha a tired look. "Men are the least of my concerns at the moment, Sasha. I've got other more important things to worry about."

"Oh, right!" Sasha sparkled, grinning. "What kind of food will be around at the after meeting?"

* * *

The damask walls shone almost too brightly, like polished gemstones on a summer day in the sunlight. On the ceiling of Commander Erwin Smith's office, painted pastel gods flew across a mural of golden-trimmed clouds, and twenty candles dripped wax on crystal ornaments swinging from gilded chandeliers. Below the extravagant aesthetics of the Commander's lair, Levi had been pacing back and forth for the past eight minutes, rambling on about any new possible leads in the organizations.

When he turned to face the Commander, Levi gave the man a strange look. "Oi. You hear me? Or are you really going to make me repeat everything I just said?"

"Yes," Erwin nodded in confirmation. "I heard. Loud and clear."

"Well…?" Levi, now impatient with the lack of syllables that usually stream from his leading Commander asked, leaning across the desk. His pale face was only millimeters from Erwin's when he spoke.

Erwin steadied his mind. "They've been seen."

"Well, no shit. They disguise themselves as typical people, but they're up to no good." Levi's eyes shifted to a guard dressed in light brown military attire. "He could be a spy. You never know."

At his mention, the man gave the two a surprised look and quickly shuffled out of office, closing the tall, wooden door behind him.

"I rest my case," Levi shook his head.

"Well, it wasn't just them. Others have been seen."

"Oh?" Levi raised a brow, slightly intrigued. "Some new cavalry unit from another nation? How many men do they have?"

"They aren't exactly a cavalry unit," Erwin cast his gaze to the floor, studying the small crevices between the wood floorboards. "They aren't people."

"Titans…?" The color drained from Levi's face as his usual rested and slotted eyes became wide in shock in mere moments. Barely able to speak, Levi clenched his fist.

"It's been confirmed by multiple witnesses only hours ago. The enemy is like nothing we have ever faced before."

Levi glanced up at Erwin, his dark bangs covering the worry in his stormy eyes. "You're kidding, right?"

"Have you known me as a humorist?"

Levi remained silent, shaking his head.

Erwin continued. "They have been seen in the east. Flying beings."

"Flying?" Levi's lower lip trembled and his throat became dry. "No."

"Sit down if you need to," Erwin uttered, his blue eyes unphased. "This is just like those creatures in the books hidden away from our eyes centuries ago, with wings miles long, breathing fire and ice. Their bodies are molten from mountains, rocks, and flame, and their teeth are sharper than any sword man could ever forage. Their bodies are impenetrable."

"What exactly are they?" Levi mustered, reaching for the desk Commander Erwin sat at. The Corporal's gaze was forced to the floor.

"We don't know what to call them… But they're definitely not human. Or titan."

"It's been so long since we've fought. I don't know if I know how to anymore."

"Levi," Erwin placed his hands on his comrade's thin shoulders. "You need to stay calm. Your instincts will never fail you."

Levi gave a short nod, looking at Erwin's badge across his chest. Since the fall of the titans, he had proudly worn it, symbolizing humanity's victory over the impossible.

"How… many…?" Levi cursed his soft, unrecognizable voice.

Erwin took a deep breath, his bright hair shimmering from the last of the fading daytime light. He closed his eyes. "Enough to wipe us out for good. And though Eren's shifting abilities have helped humanity in the past, he doesn't hold a candle to these monsters."

That wasn't the answer the Corporal wanted, and a small sigh escaped his lips as he shrunk down to his knees. "This life we've fought for..."

"It's about to change," Erwin stood up, placing his hand on Levi's shoulder again, reassuringly. "Now, up. Alert the Corps. Contact Hange for the gear and weapons."

"I understand." Levi saluted the Commander and walked over to the door. "Will you lead us again?"

Erwin cracked a small smile. "Without question."


End file.
